Jonesville holds last meeting with current commissioners

JONESVILLE — Jonesville held its last town council meeting before the newly-elected officials take their posts.

Mayor-elect Gene Pardue and Anita Darnell will take their new positions in the Dec. 9 meeting. Andy Green will begin his second term as well.

Commissioner Danny Lewis sat in on his last meeting before the transfer of power. The official swap will take place at 6 p.m. on Dec. 9, prior to the regularly scheduled meeting at 7 p.m.

During the meeting, the council will discuss replacing Gene Pardue’s empty mayor pro-tem position. By moving into the mayoral chair, Pardue will leave his final two years as pro-tem empty, which the council will decide how to fill.

Annexation

During this week’s meeting, the council received a petition for annexation from a Jonesville business about a mile outside of town limits.

Jonesville Pit Stop, a convenience store and Subway restaurant at 5543 U.S. 21, would be annexed into town limits from the current unincorporated area if the board approves the annexation request. Property owners Rajni Patel, Sumitra Patel and Jon Gambill made the petition but may pull out of the deal prior to the town council voting to make the annexation legal.

The council set Dec. 9’s regular meeting as the required public hearing on the annexation. In that time, the town clerk will investigate the sufficiency of the petition.

Bank Bids

Jonesville voted to move its banking services from Yadkin Bank to Capital Bank.

Bids were received from five banks: Yadkin, Capital, First Community, Wells Fargo and BB&T.

The bids were similar to each other in several categories, but eventually Capital separated itself by charging smaller fees to the town.

Judy Wolfe spoke during the public comment period of the meeting. She recommended changes be made to the Jonesville Tourism Development Authority.

Wolfe asked the board to consider adding seven more members to the board, bringing the number of members from eight to 15.

Wolfe said one-third of the board would remain representatives of the motels and hotels in town, as required by state law for tourism boards. Wolfe said the board should not be made up of neither town council members or town employees, to “alleviate the appearance of a conflict of interest on the Tourism Authority Board.”

The board took no action on the matter, as allowed under the public comment period of the meeting.

Wolfe had requested to be added to the agenda prior to the meeting on separate issues.

She presented the calendar of events for the Jonesville Historical Center in the upcoming year.

She also asked the board’s permission in producing town newsletters, which would be distributed to businesses in town.

Wolfe requested the board approve the measure, but commissioners said the matter did not require town approval if the historical society was producing and funding the letters itself.

Mineral Springs Drive

While the issue was not on the evening’s agenda, Town Manager Scott Buffkin spoke to the audience prior to the meeting started, as many were there about the topic of Mineral Springs Drive’s closure.

Buffkin said the town had hired a contractor to drill into the road and check the bedding for any necessary work that would need to be done.

If the contractor findings show repair or further action is required, the town will decide then if the cost is feasible and contact companies like Carter and Kirk or Carl Rose and Sons paving to draw up plans.

The analysis is slated to take between 30 and 60 days, leaving the road closure in effect until the new year.

Susan Cheek of Mineral Springs Drive spoke during the public comment period and requested a speed bump be installed on the road to curtail speeding.

Cheek requested the bump be installed if the road is to be repaired and reopened.